“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
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Halacha Goes Way Too Far
Do Not Boil a Kid in its Mother’s Milk
A prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk appears 3 times in the Torah:
- Exodus 23: 19—“You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of Yahweh your Elohim. You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.”
- Exodus 34: 26—“You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of Yahweh your Elohim. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
- Deuteronomy 14: 21—“You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the stranger who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a stranger; for you are a holy people to Yahweh your Elohim. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
A kid is a young goat. In the verses above, no other type of animal is mentioned. Also, the prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk appears to be tacked onto a command to bring first fruits into Yahweh’s house (the Temple) and a prohibition against eating anything that dies of itself. Beyond that, the Torah adds nothing.
Halacha: Debate, Confusion, and Additional Restrictions
Based on Exodus 23: 19, Exodus 34: 26, and Deuteronomy 14: 21, rabbis over the millennia have expanded the prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk and codified their restrictions in the Oral Law, a.k.a., the traditions of the Jews and Halacha. According to Halacha’s kosher dietary laws,
- No meat product can be served or eaten with any dairy product. For example, Halacha forbids eating cheeseburgers or any other culinary delight that includes a combination of meat and cheese.
- All utensils and equipment used to prepare meat and dairy products must be kept separate. That includes separate sinks and refrigerators for meat and dairy products. For all practical purposes, that means a kosher home must have two kitchens with two sets of utensils and plates.
In Prohibition of Meat and Milk: Its Origins in the Text, Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber, Senior Editor of TheTorah.com, explains how those additional restrictions came about. Below is an excerpt from his explanation:
The parameters for this rule are unclear. Chazal (the Sages) debate to which animals this law applies. The verse only refers to goats, but the positions in the Mishna range from domesticated kosher mammals (R. Akiva), all kosher mammals (R. Yossi HaGelili) or all kosher animals other than fish and grasshoppers (Tanna Kamma and Rav Yosef). Although Rabbi Akiva admits that wild animals and birds fall into this prohibition as a matter of rabbinic law (though not Torah law), Rabbi Yossi Ha-Gelili remained staunch that the prohibition does not extend to birds, since they have no mother’s milk, and in his town chicken parmesan would have been served at his own table (b. Shabbat 130a).
Practical Matters
I spend a lot of time in Israel. Over the decades, I have seen occasional altercations break out in kitchens when someone inadvertently did something like cut meat and cheese with the same knife. I have never witnessed fists flying as a result of that kind of thing, but it would be naïve to believe that fistfights don’t take place from time to time.
Thankfully, I have never been involved personally in that kind of altercation. Without exception, the person who committed the offense was unaware of all the intricate details in kosher dietary laws. In ultra-Orthodox Jewish homes, ignorance is not a good excuse.
Genesis 18: 1-8
In Genesis 18, Yahweh and two angels met with Abraham, and they ate a meal together. Below are the details:
1 Now Yahweh appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. 4 Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree; 5 and I will bring a piece of bread, so that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.”
And they said, “So do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate. (Genesis 18: 1-8)
The meal they ate consisted of bread, curds (coagulated milk), milk, and beef. Yahweh was Abraham’s guest. Abraham didn’t have a problem with serving Yahweh milk and beef together, and Yahweh didn’t have a problem with eating the meal.
So, why are the dietary laws in Halacha relating to meat and dairy products so restrictive?
Changing the Subject Slightly
If you have not read His Name is Yahweh: Revised Edition, you should read it. Yahweh has been meeting with people in Person since He created Adam and Eve. He used to walk in the Garden of Eden with them and talk:
“Now they [Adam and Eve] heard the sound of Yahweh Elohim walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh Elohim among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3: 8)
As you can see, Genesis 18: 1-8 is one of many examples recorded in the Bible of Yahweh meeting personally with humans. In His Name is Yahweh: Revised Edition, I devoted a chapter to those encounters. The title of the chapter is “Yahweh has a Human Form”, and the Messiah is Yahweh’s human form.
That fact sheds light on the passage below from Matthew 23:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the Name of Yahweh!’” (Matthew 23: 37-39)
Halacha Goes Way Too Far
In previous SnyderTalk editorials, I have discussed the fact that the Messiah performed many miracles on the Sabbath to show the Jewish religious leaders, all of whom were ultra-Orthodox Jews, that their Sabbath restrictions went way too far. I won’t repeat those editorials here.
The kosher dietary laws in Halacha provide more examples of Jewish religious leaders going too far. Yahweh gave us the Torah, Prophets, and Writings (the Tanach or the Old Testament), and He told us to obey Him. Proverbs is included in the Tanach. It is part of Scripture. Below is Proverbs 30: 4-6:
“Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name, and what is the Name of His Son? Surely you know! Every word of Elohim is pure. He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.” (Proverbs 30: 4-6)
That short passage of Scripture begins by asking if we know Yahweh’s Name and His Son’s Name. They are the same Name: Yahweh.
Then, it says that we should not add to His words. That’s exactly what ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious leaders have been doing for millennia. They are violating Yahweh’s word for the sake of their traditions that are codified in Halacha.
Finally, it tells us what will happen to people who add to Yahweh’s word. Yahweh will rebuke them, and they will be proven to be liars.
That’s what the Scripture says. It makes me wonder if ultra-Orthodox Jews ever read the Tanach.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews call themselves “Torah scholars”, but they are not. They study the Talmud, the Mishnah, and the Gemara where Halacha resides. They believe Halacha has precedence over Yahweh’s word. They could not be more wrong.
They love their traditions more than they love Yahweh. That is a serious mistake. Their biggest problem in a word is:
Tradition!
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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
